Here's what a woman from Ireland went through to get an abortion

Ireland's draconian abortion law is no secret. So, what is one to do when abortion is the only personal choice?

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IndiaToday.in

August 24, 2016

UPDATED: August 24, 2016 12:15 IST

Image for representational purposes only. Picture courtesy: Pinterest

Remember Savita Halappanavar--the Indian-origin woman from Ireland, who was 17 weeks pregnant when she developed back pain and tests revealed that she would lose her baby? Despite the medical complication, Savita was refused an abortion at an Irish hospital, stating that "it's a catholic country," which eventually led to her death.

The struggle is real for women living in Ireland, who are not ready to be a mother yet or those who are facing problems with their pregnancy. They can't simply drive to the nearest clinic, because abortions have been illegal in the country since 1983.

This is the story of one such woman, who, accompanied by a friend, made a trip to Manchester to get the simple procedure done.

This, however, is not unusual--an estimated 165,000 women have travelled out of their home country to have the procedure done, with an estimated 5,000 making the trip each year-- according to the United Kingdom's Department of Health.

The woman live-tweeted her journey to the UK, which began early on August 20, with her posting this early Saturday morning from the Twitter account--Two Women Travel.

They described their voyage as "Two women, one procedure, 48 hours away from home."